Your little brother

Pacman Washbag

Chances are your tween brother’s social diary is currently filled with sleepovers and schooltrips, in which case I think the Pacman Washbag would make an amazing gift. The washbag boasts a cute retro design and a fun ‘soap on a rope’ accessory. Available at Sainsburys for £12.

PAC MAN Wash Bag & Soap on a Rope

Bench Gift Set

If your brother is on the brink of his teenage years, this Bench Gift Set would make a great present. The set includes a lovely deoderant and a stylish wallet. The wallet is fun yet masculine, making it the perfect place for your brother to keep all of his hard-earned pocket money! Available to buy at Boots for £18.

Bench Gift Set: Bodyspray and Wallet

Your teenage brother

Nicky Clarke Hair Clay

If your brother is a hormone-riddled, image-conscious teenage boy, then he might like some “grown-up” hair products to experiment with this Christmas. If so, I recommend getting him Nicky Clarke’sRunway Hold Matte Texturizing Clay.

Nicky Clarke hair wax

The clay, which costs £14, has a neutral smell and is easy to apply. It also has a thick, sticky texture which lasts ages, meaning your brother can experiment to his heart’s content! Just remind him to use sparingly, otherwise he’ll end up looking like Ross Geller from Friends during his wet-head phase.

Superdry Cologne

Another thing which teenage boys are (sometimes overly) concerned with is the way they smell. I vividly recall the days where I’d walk into the 6th form common room and feel as if my nostrils were under attack.

If your little brother is starting to smell like a tub of cheap aftershave, steer him in the right direction this Christmas with more refined scents such as Superdry’s new range of stylish colognes. There are four in total, read on to find out what they are…

Superdry Cologne

1. Superdry Black, a rich mixture of ingredients such as coriander, incense and leather.

2. Superdry Steel, a refreshing fragrance with notes of lime and bergamot.

3. Superdry Blue, a cool mixture of ingredients including pear and moss.

Hydra Energetic Booster by L’Oreal

If your older brother seems to live by the mantra ‘work hard, play hard’, then he’ll appreciate Men Expert Hydra Energetic Booster by L’Oreal this Christmas. The product contains Vitamin C, has a zesty scent and feels refreshing when massaged into the skin.

L’Oreal Men Expert Hydra Energetic Booster

It also has a light, serum-like texture which, as L’Oreal rightly claims, is “non-greasy”, “non-sticky” and “quickly absorbed”. Just a small amount of this stuff immediately perks up dry and tired-looking skin! Currently available from Amazon for only £8.84 (RRP: £14.29).

Fat Face Washbag Gift Set

Maybe you had an unkind nickname for your brother while you two were growing up. Maybe it was fat face. If so, what better present to get him than the Fat Face Washbag Gift Set! The set contains Body Spray, Hair and Body Wash, and a soap on a rope. A lovely gift to buy your brother, even if your nickname for him wasn’t that cruel (or, indeed, that kind). Available to buy at Boots for only £10.

A few decades ago, the average man might have expected to find some Vaseline hair tonic and a bottle of Old Spice aftershave in his Christmas stocking. But as we all know, man has since evolved – and so have male grooming products!

Gone is the cosmetically-challenged male of yesteryear whose vanity case consisted of a few basic items, and in his place now is the 21st century metrosexual, whose washbag is bursting at its stylish seams with more products than a fella from the 50s could have possibly imagined.

Men nowadays are taking an increasing interest in their appearance, and the market for male cosmetics is now vaster and far more varied than it’s ever been. So, this Christmas, why not treat your favourite chaps to some nice male-groomingproducts?

Vintage Vaseline Hair Tonic advert (image: pomade-shop.eu)

There are tons of male cosmetics to choose from these days, but if you’re unsure of which products to pick, fear not! Because here at Yesterface I’ve done all the hard work for you by putting together a long list of cosmetic goodies, all of which are bound to fill the modern-day man (and his stocking) with joy!

So, whether you’re looking to find something for your boyfriend or your brother, your old man or an old friend, don’t worry – this list has it covered. All you need to do now is relax, stick on some Christmas tunes, pour yourself a glass of mulled wine and click through the links below. Who knows, with the miracle of online shopping, you may sort all your man-gifts in one sitting!

About

Blogger: Heledd Williams

Welcome to my blog, Yesterface! Dedicated to the beauty, origins and ongoing history of cosmetics, here at Yesterface I look at the way in which make-up style, cultural trends, and beauty products all adapt through the ages. I hope you enjoy the mix of interviews, articles and makeup tutorials, and I hope that Yesterface sheds new light on makeup's foundations!